“Police” is a State subject as per the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India and the efforts of the States/Union Territories (UTs) to equip and modernize their police forces are being assisted under the scheme  of  “Assistance to States & UTs  for  Modernization of Police (ASUMP)” under the Umbrella scheme of Modernization of Police Forces (MPF). The objective of the scheme is to equip the State/UT police forces adequately through development of relevant infrastructure. The focus of the scheme is to strengthen police infrastructure at cutting edge level by equipping with latest technology, weaponry, communication equipment etc. along with construction of police infrastructure such as police stations.

In order to facilitate police in States/ UTs with a common platform for filing reports, collecting and sharing information on crimes and criminals at national level, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has implemented Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) under which 17,712 police stations across the country have been covered. A total of 35.24 Cr. crime/criminal records available at national level.

To meet the emerging challenges and to deliver effective and timely responses, the police in India have adopted the concept of SMART Policing. It compasses the entire range of policing activities e.g cybercrime prevention, drug de-addiction, capacity building with latest equipment, countermeasures against left wing extremist and protection of vulnerable sections of society.

Each year, State/UT Governments are to formulate the Action Plans as per their requirements and strategic priorities including equipment/infrastructure requirement for SMART policing. These Action Plans are considered by the High-Powered Committee (HPC) in the Ministry. Subsequently, funds are released to the States/UTs in accordance with the release guidelines issued by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance from time to time.

This was stated by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs Shri Nityanand Rai in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

***

RK/VV/RR/HS/PS/PR

(Release ID: 2153174)